Election Commitments

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (14:28): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier please update the house on what action the government is taking to create more jobs, lower costs and deliver better services for South Australians?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:28): What an excellent question. I want to thank the member for Finniss for that question. What an outstanding start he has made to his parliamentary career. I'm sure it's going to be a fantastic career in this place.

We have worked very hard since the very day we were elected by the people of South Australia to create more jobs, lower costs and provide better services for the people of South Australia. I will enjoy this opportunity to outline some of the progress we have made to date. Of course, there is much more work to be done.

In terms of creating more jobs in South Australia, we want to do everything we can to create more jobs and, in particular, keep young people here in South Australia. That's why we made a decision in our very first budget to fulfil our election commitment to lower payroll tax on small business in this state. So, from 1 January next year, any business that has a payroll of up to $1½ million won't pay a cent—will not pay a cent—in terms of payroll tax. We are doing that—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —because we believe in small business in this state. When we announced this in the lead-up to the election—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —we had those opposite saying, 'This will just be putting money into the pockets of small business in South Australia and the business owners in South Australia and will do nothing whatsoever to create jobs.' As it turned out, they are now jumping on board, and we enjoy their support for this important measure.

We have also worked very hard to create an opportunity for more than 20,000 new apprenticeships and traineeships in South Australia because on this side of the parliament we believe in providing our next generation with the skills they will need to contribute fully to the great opportunities in this state. We know this is—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —an opportunity that will come with a significant price tag—in fact, in excess of $200 million—but I want to congratulate the Minister for Industry and Skills on his leadership in this area and on the way he negotiated with the federal government—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —to get a significant amount of money coming from Canberra at the same time. When we were talking to people in the lead-up to the election, plenty of them told us that the cost of living in this state had gone out of control under the previous government. That's why one of the first things we did on coming into government—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —was to slash people's emergency services levy bills. It was a shameful day when the member for West Torrens, the former treasurer of this state, wiped out that enormous benefit people had from the remission of the emergency services levy. We have put $360 million back into our economy in South Australia over our first budget, the first four years of our budget, because we believe in growing the size of our economy. I would also like to congratulate the Minister for Energy and Mining on his advocacy to make sure that—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —people in South Australia have access to storage to complement the incredible amount of solar power we have in South Australia—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —that's providing real relief to households struggling with the highest energy costs in the world under the previous government. Of course, we are working hard to fix up Labor's mess in terms of health in South Australia. We put more than $800 million—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —worth of money back into—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —the health budget in South Australia. We have addressed their vicious cuts to services at Modbury Hospital. In particular, I would like to thank—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —the member for Newland, the member for King and the member for Florey for their advocacy to return services to Modbury Hospital, and we are already putting services back in place at the Repat hospital. We'll always stand up for South Australia—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: We've employed that opportunity for the first nine months and there's plenty more to come.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Lee, I call to order the following members: the member for Playford; the member for Reynell, who is also warned; the members for Hurtle Vale and Light; the member for Elizabeth, who is also warned. The member for West Torrens was immaculately behaved for the first five minutes but has since changed his behaviour and he is called to order. The members for Enfield, Kaurna and King and the member for Morphett are called to order, and the member for Morphett is also warned. Member for Lee.